So, if I want to split my ticket, why can’t I do it myself? Well, of course you can, but if you find a good way of saving money, how do you know there is not a better one you had not discovered for yourself? The software behind transplit on the nationalrail.com website performs multiple calculations in an instant to find the best savings.
If you want to book it, all legs of the journey can be booked together, giving you the same seat to occupy if at all possible. You won’t get the same seat if you book all the legs yourself, except by pure chance, which might mean having to make lots of seat and possibly carriage changes during your trip.
There are savings to be made
Some of the best savings can be made on CrossCountry Trains (XC) between the north and the south-west, partly due to the eye-wateringly high fares they charge on this route. Let’s look as an example the trip from York (YRK) to Exeter St. Davids (EXD). You can make this journey with XC direct, or via London, and neither route is consistently the cheapest. The XC route saves changing trains but at £728 for the Anytime First Class Return it’s not a fare many people choose to purchase.
Wait until 0930 Monday to Friday, though, and all day Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays, and the single standard class off-peak single fare is a still high but more reasonable £172.60. That’s the target to beat with split ticketing. Best to check first is the through fare Advance which restricts you to one particular train and here there is a range from a rarely found but positively cheap £57.50 to £202. Of course the highest £202 fare may allow you to travel before 0930 Monday to Friday. The first class range is from £94 to £339.
But splitting the journey reduces the fare. First time I tried it looked like a biblical genealogy: York to Exeter on a busy Sunday afternoon split at Doncaster (YRK to DON £17), Sheffield (£2.70), Derby (£19.40), Birmingham (£20.50), Cheltenham Spa (£26.90), Bristol Temple Meads (£18), Taunton (£10.20) and to Exeter (£10.20). That’s a total of £124.90. Much better than £172.60.
Then I tried a later train, arriving in Exeter on the train through to Plymouth. The splits were at Leeds (£17.40), Chesterfield (£31.70), Burton upon Trent (£9.60), Birmingham (£7.70), Cheltenham Spa (£14), Bristol Temple Meads (£10) and to Exeter (£10.20). Total an even cheaper £100.60.
Who doesn’t love saving money when travelling?
Not only that but the first two legs from York and Leeds were in first class because, with no business traffic on a Sunday afternoon there were seats available in first for less than those available in standard. Yes, it really happens! At the end of the journey Bristol to Exeter was £10.20 on a train which would probably be nearly empty. These examples were gathered for travel in seven days ahead in June 2021, and I guarantee you will find something different!
But wait! Whilst the off peak single (the old Saver fare) is £172.60, there’s another important consideration. Unless you got a lift in one direction and are just taking the train one-way to get back, or if you are going to collect a car you have just bought, maybe you really want a return ticket. The return version of the old Saver fare, now known as Off-Peak, is only a bit more than the single at £173.70 – just £1.10 more, and equivalent to £86.85 each way, and splitting might even make it cheaper using Advance tickets.
You don’t have to understand the workings of the system to save money.
For train times and prices, you already know where you need to turn. Just book at nationalrail.com.
